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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fine — high quality
  4. last — to go on
  5. cold — not warm
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. drill — army training
  9. kid — to tease
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bass — low music
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. fine — all right
  15. last — final
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. kid — child
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bass — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com